Flagged in 2-5% of citations. If you're still listing all authors on the first citation, you're following APA 6. APA 7 uses et al. from the very first mention for works with three or more authors.
Use "et al." for multi-author citations that exceed the style threshold.
APA 7th edition made a major simplification: for any work with three or more authors, use the first author's surname followed by et al. from the very first citation. No exceptions, no first-citation full listing. This was a significant departure from APA 6, which required listing all authors (up to five) on the first citation and switching to et al. only for subsequent citations. If your dissertation still follows the old pattern, your committee sees someone working from outdated guidance.
The confusion runs deep because many students learned APA 6 in earlier coursework, and some older dissertation guides and YouTube tutorials still teach the old rule. Even some citation managers default to APA 6 formatting unless you specifically select APA 7. The result is dissertations that list 'Smith, Jones, Williams, Brown, and Davis (2022)' on first mention and then switch to 'Smith et al. (2022)' afterward—technically perfect APA 6, but incorrect for APA 7.
There are edge cases worth knowing. Two-author works always list both names—et al. never applies. For works where shortening to et al. would create ambiguous citations (e.g., two different Smith et al., 2020 references), you list enough authors to distinguish them. But for the vast majority of citations, the rule is simple: three or more authors means et al. from the start. Period.
Style guides require et al. for works with 3+ authors (APA/MLA) or 4+ authors (Chicago) to keep citations concise.
Students list all authors because older style guides (APA 6) required listing all authors on first citation. APA 7 simplified this in 2019.
Et al. is the standard format from first citation for multi-author works. All authors still appear in the reference list.
(Smith & Jones & Brown & Davis, 2020)
(Smith et al., 2020) (first author + et al.)
Five-author citation listed in full on first mention (APA 6 habit). APA 7 requires et al. from the first citation.
Transformational leadership has been linked to employee satisfaction (Burns, Bass, Avolio, Northouse, & Yukl, 2021). Subsequent mentions would cite Burns et al. (2021).
Transformational leadership has been linked to employee satisfaction (Burns et al., 2021).
Three-author work listed in full. APA 7 requires et al. for three or more authors from first use.
Smith, Jones, and Lee (2020) conducted a mixed methods study on teacher retention.
Smith et al. (2020) conducted a mixed methods study on teacher retention.
Common typo: 'et. al.' with a period after 'et.' The period only goes after 'al.' because only 'al.' is an abbreviation (of 'alii').
Recent findings (Williams et. al., 2022) support this conclusion.
Recent findings (Williams et al., 2022) support this conclusion.
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